Asim Bando's KOLKATA BLOG

6th October, 2009 - Howrah Bridge, Kolkata. Famous film director Aparna Sen shoot her new Bengali film with heroin Kankana, her daughter and hero Saheb, son of ex-football player - Subrata Ganguly.

Construction of the existing Howrah Bridge was started on 1937. The Cantilever Era was prevailing at that time, and engineers felts that cantilever bridges were more rigid than suspension bridges. This bridge is one of the finest cantilever bridges in the world - left to India by the British engineers. The bridge is 705 meters long and 97 feet (30m) wide. More than 26,500 MT of high-tensile steel went into the unique bridge supported by two piers, each nearly 90 meters above the road. An engineering marvel, it expands as much as a meter during a summer day. Technical Specifications : Builders- Rendel Palmer & Tritton, Cleveland Bridge & Engineering Co. Ltd. Material- Steel. Tower height- 82m. Number of Spans- 3. Length of spans- 99.125m, 457.50m, 99.125m. Length of drop-in span 172.08m. Official website of the Howrah Bridge http://www.howrahbridgekolkata.nic.in

The famous Floating Pontoon Bridge (the old Howrah Bridge) was built in 1874 by Sir Bradford Leslie. It was built using timber on pontoon. The bridge was opened to let river traffic through. The bridge had hinged shore spans since Hooghly River is subjected to tides. During high tides there became very steep and bullock carts were not able to negotiate their way, which resulted in traffic jams. It was also feared that the floating bridge could affect river currents and cause silting problems. With time the bridge became too inadequate for the ever increasing traffic. Due to all these reasons Government of Bengal in 1933 decided to replace the Floating Pontoon Bridge. The Floating Pontoon Bridge which was originally commissioned to service for 25 years, was decommissioned on February 1943, after its long service of 69 years.

The Howrah Bridge spans the Hooghly River, linking Howrah to Kolkata, India. It was originally named the new Howrah Bridge because it links the city of Howrah to its twin city Kolkata (Calcutta). On 14 June, 1965 it was renamed Rabindra Setu, after Rabindranath Tagore a great poet and the first Indian Nobel laureate. However, it is still popularly known as the Howrah Bridge. The bridge is one of the four on the Hooghly River and is a famous symbol of Kolkata and West Bengal. The other bridges are the Vidyasagar Setu (popularly known as Second Hooghly Bridge), the Vivekananda Setu and the newly built engineering marvel Nivedita Setu. Apart from bearing the stormy weather of the Bay of Bengal region, the eight-lane bridge successfully bears the weight of a daily traffic of approximately 80,000 vehicles and possibly, more than 1,000,000 pedestrians. It is the sixth longest bridge of its type in the world.

World-famous playback singer Manna Dey awarded with the nation's most prestigious award in the field of entertainment - Dadasaheb Phalke Award today by the govt. of India. He was born & brought up in the city of Kolkata. From 1950 to 1980 within 30 years he recorded 3,500 songs. He is now 90 years old but still young to sing. The city is proud for his latest achievement.

A pleasure trip begins today - Kolkata to Benaras by luxury vessel on River Ganges. Foreigners can get all the facilities in the vessel and can visit the riverside historical and remarkable places. But you have to wait six months because all the tickets for the next six months have been sold. So the journey already made super hit. The first pic is the view of Howrah Bridge on River Ganges from where the pleasure trip begins and the second picture is the River Ganges of Benaras - the place where the journey will be finished.

Sandhi puja just completed. Here are glimpses of the midnight rituals performed at a 'thakur daalaan' in Kolkata.

Village model.